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Louisiana Republicans voted to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy on Saturday, rejecting the incumbent who voted to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges.<\/span><\/p>\n With more than half the vote counted, Cassidy is trailing his conservative primary rivals, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and State Treasurer John Fleming. Trump-backed Letlow, buoyed by the president\u2019s endorsement, currently leads the race with 45% of the vote. With no candidate clearing the 50% threshold, Letlow and Fleming will advance to a June 27 runoff. <\/span>Decision Desk HQ called the race 9:56 p.m. ET.<\/a><\/p>\n Cassidy\u2019s fall from grace is another sign of Trump\u2019s enduring grip on the Republican base, as the president continues flexing his political clout to target GOP lawmakers he views as disloyal to his agenda.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump took one last shot<\/a> at Cassidy as Louisiana headed to the polls on Saturday, urging voters to throw their support behind the incumbent Republican\u2019s primary challenger.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSenator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is a disloyal disaster,\u201d the president wrote on <\/span>Truth Social<\/span><\/a>, noting that the two-term senator voted to impeach him after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. \u201cBill Cassidy is a sleazebag, a terrible guy, who is BAD FOR LOUISIANA. Now he\u2019s going to get CLOBBERED, hopefully, in today\u2019s BIG election, by two great people!!!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>In January, Trump endorsed Letlow (R-LA) to replace Sen. Cassidy, who was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot. <\/span><\/p>\n In a <\/span>February 2021 column that has since come back to haunt him politically<\/span><\/a>, Cassidy wrote that Trump was \u201cguilty\u201d of inciting the riot and \u201cactively subverting the peaceful transfer of power.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ryan Girdusky, a conservative political consultant, called that vote the \u201cultimate betrayal.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe impeachment vote against Trump is really what did him in; had he not voted to impeach Trump, he wouldn\u2019t be in this position,\u201d Girdusky said. \u201cIf they successfully had a trial against him, he would have been ineligible to run for President. So maybe that\u2019s what Cassidy was rooting for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That reality, Girdusky said, pushed Trump to get involved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c\u201cHighly Respected America First Congresswoman, Julia Letlow, of the wonderful State of Louisiana, is a Great Star, has been from the very beginning, and only gets better!\u2019 Trump said in a Friday Truth Social post<\/a>. \u201cElection Day is tomorrow, Saturday, May 16th. Vote for Julia Letlow \u2014 She has my Complete and Total Endorsement, and will never let you down!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In her campaign launch, Letlow said that in \u201ca state as conservative as ours, we shouldn\u2019t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure\u2019s on. Louisiana deserves conservative champions, leaders who will not flinch,\u201d <\/span>The Daily Wire previously reported.<\/span><\/a> The congresswoman took office in April 2021, following a special election triggered by her husband\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n During the campaign, Cassidy and Fleming targeted Letlow over <\/span>past comments praising diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts<\/span><\/a>, questioning her conservative credentials.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s as moderate as Bill Cassidy is,\u201d Girdusky told The Daily Wire. \u201cSo it\u2019s not like they\u2019re trading a moderate for a conservative. They\u2019re trading a moderate for a moderate, but one that Trump approved versus one that Trump didn\u2019t approve.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cassidy also faced heat for stalling some of Trump\u2019s high-profile nominees, including Surgeon General pick Dr. Casey Means.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n A physician and chairman of the Senate health committee, Cassidy stopped short of supporting her, effectively sinking her nomination prospects \u2014 a move that infuriated MAHA supporters and the president himself.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBill Cassidy is a mindless avatar for his donors and a blind defender of the status quo system that is profiting from American sickness,\u201d Calley Means, Casey Means\u2019 brother, <\/span>said on social media.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The president piled on, calling Cassidy <\/span>a \u201cvery disloyal person\u201d who \u201cstood in the way\u201d of RFK Jr.\u2019s preferred nominee.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump, widely viewed as the GOP\u2019s kingmaker, recently exacted revenge on a handful of Indiana Republicans who bucked his redistricting push. With Cassidy\u2019s defeat, the White House is already shifting its attention to another bruising primary battle: backing Captain Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL, against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in Kentucky\u2019s 4th Congressional District.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt shows that it\u2019s really about Trump,\u201d Girdusky said. \u201cIt shows that voters have this innate belief that he has their best interests at heart, and that he is feeling the anger that they\u2019re feeling of betrayal from the elected officials.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n